OVERVIEW: 1861. Cara has a
simple mission in London – finalise her father’s estate and sell off
his damned collection of priceless artifacts. Her plan goes awry when a
killer stalks the nobility, searching for an ancient Egyptian relic
rumoured to hold the key to immortality.

Nathaniel Trent, known
as the villainous viscount, is relentless in his desire to lay his hands
on both Cara and the priceless artifacts. His icy exterior and fiery
touch stirs Cara’s demons, or could he lay them to rest?

Self-preservation
fuels Cara’s search for the gem known as Nefertiti’s Heart. In a
society where everyone wears a mask to hide their true intent, she needs
to figure out who to trust, before she sacrifices her own heart and
life

ANALYSIS: (Mihir) Nefertiti’s Heart is an intriguing book that
popped up in Fantasy Book Critic’s lot. Firstly it was a top 3 contender with its
gorgeous cover art and the blurb was exciting enough for me to get started on
it early on. The book’s blurb details our protagonist’s hurry to sell off her
father’s estate for reasons that become crystal clear in the first few chapters
itself. Cara Devon is a person who’s been shaped by her teenage/adolescent
years and those hardships have left mental, physical & psychological scars
on her. These scars inform her current behavior and outlook in life wherein she
has decided she wants nothing to do with her dad and his precious collection.

Cara’s struggles are further compounded
when she learns that some of the items in her father’s collections are prized
by similarly focused individuals who share even less morality than her recently
departed father. There’s also the concern that her father’s death wasn’t a
natural one and due to which Scotland Yard detectives are very much intrigued
by her and her whereabouts. There’s also the Viscount who’s interested in her
legacy and a Scotland Yard officer who wants the truth to be uncovered. These
are the main characters in play and there’s a serial killer at work too. These
are the tangled threads that author A. W. Exley puts into play in the first
volume of The Artifact Hunters series. The book ends on a strong climax which
solve the mystery presented in this first volume but sets up a romantic plot
thread that will resolve over the series as well gives us a colorful cast of
characters to follow.

What I loved immediately about this
book upon starting it was the characterization beginning with Cara. She’s a
formidable character who will intrigue the reader with the hints about her past
and her resoluteness in her wish to be rid of her father’s legacy. I was
immediately drawn to her and as the story progresses we find that there’s more
to her grit. The story is almost a thriller with some solid romantic overtones
to it and I felt that as a thriller lover, I was able to enjoy the story and
even the romance. I can’t speak to how well the romance is crafted since I’m
not that big a romance reader but the story held up for me. A word of caution
though there’s some dark stuff within with regards to Cara’s backstory and it
might not be palatable to everyone. Any plus point about the book was its
streamlined pace and the mystery at its core. In this regard this book was a
definite surprise as it managed to successfully mold aspects of the thriller,
romance & steampunk genres in its fold confidently. Lastly the book cover
is an eye-catching one and was in the top 3 from our lot.

The not so fun parts to this story,
well there’s the whole romance buildup which takes place between our
protagonist and the Viscount which doesn’t quite add up. For example our
heroine doesn’t like been touched but is strangely drawn to the count’s dark
brooding ways. The author explains some of this attraction later on in the plot
but it didn’t quite ring much for me. Maybe for romance readers this might be a
genre trope and that would explain it. For me, that was a bit of a glitch in
the story. There’s also the steampunk aspect of the story which seems a tad
window dressing like. Sure there’s mention of airships and other things from
time to time but not much explanation is provided of how things came to be as
they are.

Overall these are minor complaints from
me as I still was able to enjoy the story because of the main mystery, the
engaging characters (main and side cast) as well as the plot pace which makes
it quite easy to want to keep on reading. I think this book definitely deserves
a semifinal slot and I would be interested to see how the author develops the
world and characters in the sequels. Nefertiti’s Heart is a fun but dark
romantic mystery story that offers a bit of many genres and marks itself as a
good read nonetheless.

(Cindy) I think I have mentioned a time or two or even more
that I love reading books that take place in London. When I saw that
Nefertiti's Heart took place in a Victorian-era London, I instantly had to give
it a shot.

Nefertiti's Heart is a mixed bag of genres all combined into
one book. There is a little bit of sci-fi/steampunk, adventure, mystery,
gothic, and romance. Normally this wouldn't work out as it would seem that mixing
so many different genres would cause the plot/characters/flow of the book to
suffer, but it didn't.

I will admit that there is a heavier emphasis on the romance
element than I am used to or really would care to read, but – for me – the
mystery and steampunk elements were strong enough that I could easily look over
the romance-heavy sections.

There were a lot of things that I really enjoyed about
Nefertiti's Heart. It had a very fast-paced feel to it, the mystery was
captivating, and I really "clicked" with the characters. Add in the
fact that much of the mythology referenced and time period was very well
researched and you have a solid novel that is extremely enjoyable.

While I really enjoyed Nefertiti's Heart, I will admit that
it isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. The romance-heavy sections are
really heavy on the romance. Not every reader is going to be able to overlook
it and some may even feel it draws from the plot.

There is also another issue that really needs to be
mentioned. It isn't so much an issue, but it does – I feel – need to be noted
so readers can make an informed decision. Nefertiti's Heart brings up some
pretty grim and heavy topics. If you are squeamish regarding abuse, especially
the physical and sexual abuse of a child/teen, the entire novel isn't going to
fit for you. While these topics are heavy, I felt they were handled in an
appropriate manner.

Overall, I feel Nefertiti's Heart is a strong novel. It
certainly isn't going to be everyone's favorite book and there are going to be
a lot of things some readers don't like, but for me, personally, it worked.
Give it a shot, you might be impressed.